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As a former Marine

Submitted by Just some guy on Thu, 04/19/2007 - 13:38

As a former Marine (of 8 ½ years) and current Department of Defense employee, others expect that I support the Bush Administration, from top to bottom and bow to stern. While that expectation is supported by aspects of my daily job in that I provide support to military families, I do not support the Bush Administration.

The biggest boost to my political ideology came last year when the II Marine Expeditionary Force (II MEF) designated a “Wounded Warriors Program” and installed them into the building I worked (we've since been relocated).

Every day I saw the results of the disastrous policy in Iraq. I saw Marines with bandaged arms and legs and Marines in wheelchairs or on crutches. They would all go back to Iraq if they were ordered - it's their duty, after all. But most would volunteer to go back and some have. I've asked a few of them why and the answers are almost all the same: Revenge. That's not to say that America's military forces are full of revenge-minded thugs. That’s completely not the case.

They're angry because their brother and sister Marines died and they couldn't stop it. That anger is directed towards Iraqis for not standing up to take control of their own nation. The anger is also directed towards Americans that don't support the continued occupation of Iraq because they see it as an insult. The Marines see it as an act of honor to see this through to the end and, indeed, that is an honorable way to exit Iraq. The problem is that there is no end.

The Bush Administration and the Occupation of Iraq has caused grave damage to these Marines and their families. As the Bush Administration stays its course in Iraq, more Americans will die, but many, many more will be wounded - physically and mentally. The Bush Administration continues to hack and slash at veterans’ health-care and strong-arms the VA into reducing disability ratings.

It's important for all American military members to remember the disservice that the Bush Administration has wrought upon them: Walter Reed. 3309 dead and 24,764 wounded in Iraq (as of the April 18th DoD casualty report). 347 dead and 1,177 wounded in other efforts on the War on Terror (as of the April 14th DoD casualty report).

Members of the American military can't speak out against the Bush Administration. They can't disobey their orders. They shouldn't. They would truly dishonor themselves and their service. They can, however, vote. It's important that our service members understand what's happening and what's being done to them because they honestly do not know.

I was hoping you'd help us get inside the mind of the active duty Marine - and you have. I wish they would redirect their anger toward those who deserve it in the White House.

I hear many troops saying things like "we have to finish the mission." I admire their resolve, but I also feel sorry for them. They have bought the bullshit stories from BushCo that there actually is a way to finish the mission. Short of blowing the entire country to holy hell, there is no way to stop this insanity - and even that would reverberate into a global war we cannot win.

and my guess would be that like so many of us, as they age they will turn their anger to the true source...and they will become the next generation of progressives...ie commie pinko liberal hippies.

Me...I still want revenge, but LBJ is dead and most of the ass-holes who helped him are on their way out. I figure I'll settle for peeing on their graves..should I ever care enough to be in the remotest proximity to their writhing places.

to accept that the people they are trained to respect manufactured the intelligence that sent them to war. If they could understand that, maybe they wouldn't want revenge against Iraqis or American who don't support the war. It's always hard to accept when your real enemy is the person/people you looked up to and trusted the most.

“All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players.” So enjoy the drama.

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